To be labelled a ‘work of art’, a painting, sculpture or other art forms should display certain qualities that are unique. However, over the past century, there has been a decline in the quality of prize-winning artwork and it is now possible for quite ordinary pieces of art to be labelled ‘masterpiece’ whilst true works of art pass unnoticed. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
There has been a change in the expectation of every possible creature living on the Earth. Amongst them, there is also the presence of the lovers of Art. Since the past ten decades, there has been a shift in the preferences of the lovers of Art. It may, however, be also a possibility that there is a dearth of ‘True Lovers’ of the art in the current era. Whatever may be the case, it is the art which is always at the receiving end and has, to a large extent, lost its renowned charm.
A work of art is a masterpiece which gets conceived in the mind of an intellectual who ultimately gives birth to it on a canvas. For an artist, his/her arts are dearer than the fine opals, more precious than the Emeralds! However, from amongst numerous such pieces of artworks, there are very few, lucky pieces, which outshines/eclipses other artworks due to their sheer uniqueness, adorability, attractiveness and eye-catching features, to name a few. In the yesteryears, there used to be a very negligible number of such masterpieces. With the wind of the change, which engulfed the whole society including the intellectuals and their subjects, there has been a tremendous shifting of expectations, preferences, requirements and ‘true love’ towards the work of art.
It is due to this change which has happened due to more materialistic needs that the population of art lovers and the quality of artworks has greatly declined. The direct, and unfortunate, effect of such a change has influenced the quality of artworks negatively. Due to the paucity of art lovers and their genuine and matured followers, it has become a possibility for even a substandard piece of art to be categorised as a ‘masterpiece’, whereas the true works of arts remain a mute spectator. In a recent article published in the ‘Art and Culture’ section of a leading fortnight magazine, there has been a full article dedicated in memory of the maestro of artworks, the Late Mr. ABC. It was unfortunate to learn that the maestro had to spend his last few years in misery. This in spite of the fact, that the said maestro was a well-known international figure in the era of 1950s in the field of arts, particularly the painting.
It can safely and with relevant evidence concluded that the kind of intellectual pieces in respect of arts which are labelled as masterpieces in the current era stands nowhere in comparison and contrast to the real masterpieces of art which were produced over the past hundred years.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Refer to people directly Original: every possible creature living on the Earth Suggested revision: people around the world Why it matters: Creature is an inappropriate and imprecise way to refer to people in this argument.
- 2. Fix the time phrase Original: Since Suggested revision: Over Why it matters: Over, not since, introduces a completed span extending to the present.
- 3. Use natural word order Original: be also a possibility Suggested revision: also be possible Why it matters: The adjective possible and this adverb position form the natural construction.
- 4. Avoid unnecessary capitals Original: ‘True Lovers’ of the art Suggested revision: true lovers of art Why it matters: These common nouns do not require capitals or quotation marks.
- 5. State the effect directly Original: at the receiving end Suggested revision: adversely affected Why it matters: The idiom is vague, while the replacement directly states the claimed harm.
- 6. Use a natural collocation Original: lost its renowned charm Suggested revision: lost much of its former appeal Why it matters: Renowned charm is not a natural collocation for describing art's changing appeal.
- 7. Use formal passive voice Original: gets Suggested revision: is Why it matters: The standard passive form is more appropriate for this formal description.
- 8. Use correct reference Original: his/her arts Suggested revision: their art Why it matters: Art is uncountable in this sense, and singular they avoids the awkward paired pronoun.
- 9. Remove the article Original: the fine opals Suggested revision: fine opals Why it matters: The general comparison does not refer to a specific known set of opals.
- 10. Remove article and capital Original: the Emeralds Suggested revision: emeralds Why it matters: A general plural common noun needs neither the article nor a capital letter.
- 11. Avoid the double noun Original: pieces of artworks Suggested revision: works of art Why it matters: Works of art is the idiomatic plural expression.
- 12. Fix agreement and choice Original: pieces, which outshines/eclipses Suggested revision: pieces that outshine Why it matters: The plural subject requires outshine, and a slash should not substitute for selecting a verb.
Suggested Rewrites
- every possible creature living on the Earth people around the world
- Since Over
- be also a possibility also be possible
- ‘True Lovers’ of the art true lovers of art
- at the receiving end adversely affected
- lost its renowned charm lost much of its former appeal
Why this response received Band 6.0
The essay maintains a consistent agreement with the claim and uses a recognisable introduction, body, and conclusion. Its main weakness is that the argument is repetitive and abstract, with the invented example offering little convincing evidence, while frequent awkward phrasing and grammar errors reduce clarity. The highest priority is to build a concrete explanation of how judging standards have changed and support it with a specific, relevant example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
A clear position is sustained, but the reasons for declining standards are asserted repetitively and receive limited convincing development.
Explain the mechanisms linking materialism or changing preferences to prize decisions and support them with a concrete, credible example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The paragraph sequence is broadly logical, although repetition, vague referencing, and cumbersome sentence progression weaken cohesion.
Give each body paragraph one distinct claim and remove repeated statements about changing tastes and declining quality.
Lexical Resource
The essay attempts a wide vocabulary, but frequent imprecise collocations, inflated wording, and inappropriate word choices reduce naturalness.
Use simpler, exact terms for artistic quality and public recognition instead of expressions such as paucity of art lovers and mute spectator.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
There is a mix of simple and complex structures, but frequent agreement, article, word-form, and sentence-construction errors are conspicuous.
Prioritise complete clause structures and agreement between subjects and verbs before attempting long, heavily modified sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
To be labelled a ‘work of art’, a painting, sculpture or other art forms should display certain qualities that are unique. However, over the past century, there has been a decline in the quality of prize-winning artwork and it is now possible for quite ordinary pieces of art to be labelled ‘masterpiece’ whilst true works of art pass unnoticed. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.